The reverse gas flow from Slovakia to Ukraine started on Tuesday.

The pipeline was opened by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Ukraine's Arseniy Yatsenyuk and representative of the European Commission Klaus-Dieter Borchardt in Velke Kapusany.

"The introduction of the reverse gas flow from Vojany to Uzhhorod is an important event both in Slovak-Ukrainian relations and in the European context," stressed Fico.

Yatsenyuk added that reverse gas flow pipelines from Slovakia, Hungary and Poland are able to cover 20 percent of Ukrainian consumption.

"Europe needs new energy rules that would be honest in the first place, and wouldn't allow any non-EU country to act as a monopoly," said Yatsenyuk in reference to Russia.

The Vojany-Uzhhorod pipeline will have the capacity of 10 billion cubic metres of gas per year (27 million cubic metres per day).

A memorandum on introducing the reverse gas flow from Slovakia to Ukraine was signed by gas transport operators of the two countries Eustream and Ukrtransgaz back on April 28.

Ukraine launched talks with its EU neighbours after Russian Gazprom in early April almost doubled the gas prices for Ukraine. Around half of Ukraine's gas consumption depends on import from Russia. Enditem

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)